I slowly opened my eyelids as I hear a voice calling out to me. It seems that I had fallen asleep through the whole ride. Well. It isn't all surprising since I barely had any rest these past few days.

"Excuse me. We've arrived at Inaba," A young female voice woke me up.

"Ah. Thanks for waking me up," I yawned and stretched my body.

"No problem, kid. I'm just doing my job. Do you want to me to help with your luggage?" She asked.

"No. its fine," I replied

"All right," She said and walked away.

Inaba, huh? I'm finally here. Excitement rushed through my body as I quickly grabbed all my belonging and walked out of the train. I was met with a cold breeze as jumped off the train, signaling the end of summer. The train station was fairly underwhelming, compared to those in Tokyo, but seeing as it's a fairly rural place, It seems perfectly normal. A few stores were open, selling many souvenirs and various seafood products. I guess they weren't lying when they say Inaba is a town of fishermen. I leisurely strolled through all the different stores since I didn't have much planned for today. It's already pretty late into the night, so I planned on buying some food and quietly head to this new apartment of mine and sleep early. School starts in three days so I planned on exploring Inaba thoroughly in the next few days.

There is one store in particular that caught my interest. A small food stall that's pinned in a corner of the station. An old lady with graying hair tends the shop by herself. Her figure feels small yet warm at the same time. The smell of a home cooked meal could be smelled from miles away. The distinct fragrance of curry sways over my nose, creating a sudden sensation  of hunger. My rumbling, hungry belly led my way to the front of her store. I stared at the food that was displayed for such a long time that I could hear a snort from the old lady.

"Are you going to buy something, kiddo?" She teased with a warm smile.

"A-h, sorry for staring for such a long time. Your food smells  so good that I couldn't help but be awed," I said.

"Well, aren't you flattering? Kids these days are usually really rude," She pulled open a pot of curry. "There's only a little bit of curry left. Would you want that?" She asked.

"Yes please!" I said eagerly and sat down on one of the many stools in front of the stall.

"Haha. Well, all right," She proceeds to scoop up steaming, hot rice on a plate and poured a generous heap of curry on top of the rice.

"Here you go, One curry rice special," She placed the plate in front of me and provided utensils.

"Thanks for the food!" I said and dug in.

"Uwoaah! This is really good, old lady" I complimented

"My name's not old lady. Its shizue." she corrected. "And don't talk with your mouth full. Kids these days..." 

"All right, Shizue-san. Your foods really good," I said after swallowing my food.

"See, that ain't too hard, is it..."

"It's Miyazaki,"

"Miyazaki-kun, huh?  What brings a city boy like you to this quiet, rural town?"

"How'd you know I was from the city?" I asked curiously.

"Well, if you've lived as long as I have, then the difference is quite obvious. Besides, I've worked here for twenty years and this is the first time I’ve seen your face."

"I see. And to answer your question, I'm transferring school and will be living here for a while," 

"Eh? You're transferring to Inaba of all places?"

"Yeah. You see, this was my mother's hometown. I moved here because I wanted to know what sort of place she grew up in." I said.

"You must really love your mother, huh?" 

"Of course,"

"What's her name?" She asked.

"Huh?" 

"Well, this town's so small that I practically know everyone's name,"

"Even at this age?" I teased.

"Who're you calling old, damn brat!" She smacked my head with a spoon that she was holding. "For your Information, I'm still in my late fifties," She huffed proudly.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I was kidding, Shizue-san,"

"Humph," she huffed as if my presence was a bother. "So, what's her name?"

"Hmm, Oh. It's Miyazaki Rumi," I told her.

"Eh? Rumi-Chan?"

"Yes, do you know her?"

"Of course I do. She was one of my loyal customers," She said proudly. "I haven't seen or heard from her in a long time. So she moved into the city and married that brat, Okita, huh?" She asked me.

"Y-yes,"  

"S-so....What was she like?" I asked quietly.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" She said.

I froze. I know she was just joking. I know that she doesn't that my mother is dead. But still, I can't help but feel this aching pain in my chest. 

"Is something wrong?" She caught onto my distress.

"M-my mother....She passed away when I was young,"

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss," She said 

"Y-yeah,"

"People these days die so young, huh?" She stared at me with sad eyes. "Kids shouldn't have to watch their parents leave them at such a tender age," She muttered.

I could only sit there in silence. I didn't know what to say. The air in the room became awkward and chillingly silent. What am I supposed to say now?

"You asked me what she was like back then, right?" she suddenly asked,

"Huh? Oh, yes," I replied after being snapped out of my thoughts.

"Well, she was a very loud and cheerful girl. Always doing what she feels like and saying whatever she wants. Looking back at it, she was quite a handful," she chuckled. "But despite all of that, no one dislikes her. She has this weird talent for befriending strangers she just met."

"I didn't know my mother was such a lively person."

"Hmm. Is that so?" She looked at me with a perplexed expression.

"Yeah...She was really ill for a majority of my childhood, so I didn't get to meet her too often."

She looked at me with eyes full of pity and continued. "Anyways, your mother really had this huge passion for music. She would always say that she would make it big as a musician in the city one day. She had a beautiful, soft and angelic voice that matches with her beautiful looks. Hearing her sing was always a treat, haha," She laughed heartily. 

"Yes, her voice is really something else," I agreed. 

She continued the story of my mother for a long time. Her expression when she was telling those stories could be described as prideful and happy. She told me how my mother started a small concert with a group of friends, how my mother practiced for hours and hours and rest up by eating at Shizue's stall, she told me everything from the most significant moments of her to the most obscure details. I just sat there, listening and laughing, as the time pass by. It was getting very late into the night and I didn't want to take up all of Shizue's time.

"It looks like It's already really late, Shizue-san,"

"Haha, is it? I didn't notice," She laughed.

"I'll be on my way then. How much is it for the curry?" I asked.

"It's on the house, kiddo!"

"I can't possible waste your time and not pay for the food,"

"Eh, you're the son of my loyal costumer. It's on the house," She insisted strongly. "Just promise me to come around once in a while," she said.

"All right. It's a promise," I said.

"See you around, then. I'm going to close up shop,"

"Do you want me to help close up shop?"

"Sure. My backs been killing me lately." She agreed.

"Oh, yeah. What's your given name?" She asked out of the blue 

"Why ask?"

"I just wanted to know what name that loyal customer of mine gave you,"

"It's Adachi,"

"Adachi-kun, huh? Then you can call me Shizue-oba-chan"

"Eh..."

"Just say it, brat"

"S-shizue o-oba -chan,"

"Haha, you'll get used to it.  Now, let's get to work. This place won't close up by itself, you know,"

After helping Shizue close up shop, we went our separate ways. It's a shame that our house were not in the same direction, seeing that an old lady walking home by herself is prone to all kinds of danger. I offered to walk her home but she insisted that it’s okay. This town apparently has really low crime rates. 

The scenery of Inaba is what I expected. A small, quiet, rural town with very few tall buildings. The air is fresh, the roads are clean and there are many trees. Seafood themed stores are everywhere as expected from the town of fishermen. It's a great change of scenery from Tokyo's robust, over the top, crowded streets. The streets here are fairly empty which wasn’t surprising since it's fairly late into the night. Unlike Tokyo, things are quiet here in the night, I suppose. Thank god for the low crime rates, huh? 

As I traverse the streets of Inaba, I ponder on my fond conversation with Shizue. I'm glad I got to meet her. It feels like I got to know my mother better through my conversation with that kind hearted, old lady. I guess I made the right decision by going to Inaba, huh? I wonder what else I'll unravel throughout my stay here. Well, there's one thing I'm sure of; I'm definitely looking forward to what this quiet town of fishermen has to offer.

After walking for fifteen minutes, I made it to my new residence. It seems like it's fairly close to the train station. The apartment itself isn't very impresive. Very run-down, old and dusty. But, i guess it’ll have to do. The apartment business in Inaba is fairly non-existent. Inns were very popular here but I couldn't stay at an Inn for months. My wallet would be dry as hell if I did. My father said that he'll be transferring me money but It barely covers rent. Stingy bastard... Sigh I guess I'll have to look into a part-time job. 

The Landlord of the apartment was a middle-aged Woman by the name of Yui was fairly pretty with long, flowing black hair and wore simple clothes. She said that the reason this apartment hasn't closed down was because this was her father’s apartment complex. His father thought of this place as his pride and joy so she couldn't bear selling it off. She barely makes end meet so she couldn't really renovate the place. 

After complaining for a minute or two, we arrived at my room and she gave me the keys to the apartment. As expected of a cheap apartment. It's very similar to Yusuke's place but still way smaller. Well, all the necessities are here and they all worked, so I guess that's good enough. There's even a balcony that has a view that could rival Yusuke's place. After unpacking all my stuff, I felt lethargic and decided to go for a smoke.  Now smoking and enjoying the quiet scenery, the only thoughts I had in my mind was of my mother. Shizue's description of her was a fairly different person than that I know. Maybe I didn't knew here well at all. Isn’t that a depressing thought? Maybe if she weren't ill....She could've told me all those tales herself. Those tales from a distant past....

Sigh....What am I doing?

Exhaustion seems to have taken over me and I quickly entered my room and slept on the mattress on top of the tatami floor. It's far from the most comfortable bed I've slept in but I guess it’s what you'd expect. After shutting off all my useless thoughts, I quickly drift into deep sleep.